NMcruser

My e-brake and battery charge light on my dash flicker on and off pretty regularly now. (blew out my low beam headlights one night)....I was pretty convinced it was my alternator because my power steering pump leaked quite a bit of fluid down into it. Two places tested it and said it was fine though....any ideas what could be wrong??? Thanks

Rick F.

First thought would be are there any electrical connectors or wiring in poor condition that may have also been exposed to the power steering leak? The only way to troubleshoot that I know of would be to have the problem in solid, grab your VOM, wiring diagrams and start pulling fuses.

Greg'sToy

i had the same common problem, it's probably your alternator brushes. mine started as a flicker, and got progressively worse ( the bat & brake lights would come on solid and stay on until the truck cooled completely down overnight). The brushes are like $20 from Toyota.

Memphis_Yota

Its Definately your alternator,
i had to exact same problem, first my belt that turns my alty blew, but the reason i checked was because i had no heat and it was winter time so i changed the belt and it went away ( alty wasn;t charging so light came on) then next the lights were flickering on and off and i just ignored it cause they just were flickering, then the just stayed on and my lights went dim then i tested my alty and found out there was no charge, so i chaged it and the lights went away, so your alty is definatly going, either maintain it with new brushes or just buy a new one,but when you do get the the alty from the automatic truck because it is a 70 amp instead of a 60 amp and it has the same plug and bolts ( assuming you have a 89-95 pickup or runner, i am not sure about the older models)
cody

Diggertoy

yeah it is probably your alternator , but could be your Main fuse as well ! I fried 2 alternators , until I figured that it was the Main fuse, of course happened after I had put a Powermaster High amp in it , and ofcourse that was probably my cause of blowing the Main, but yours sounds like it's doing the same as mine was originally.

Diggertoy

Also, buyer beware.......don't buy power alternators firstly from Downey Offroad, mine lasted 3 months , and I got no refund on a $313 alternator. Secondly, rebuilt alternators, are shoddy at best , I've had 2 from Kragen Auto Parts, that failed , AFTER the warranty ( 3 months ) ... so if I was going to do it again, I'd buy one from the dealership , and pay their high price...at least you'll know it's gonna be good and it's not a guess with the aftermarket ones.... Good Luck !!!

Diggertoy

and between buying all toll 4 alternators, at about $ 650, the toyota one seems cheap at around $ 460.......not to mention my labor time installing and removing the 4 Alternators, etc...